Corkfest 2006

By Steven Robert Allen

The concept of a backyard party has been lifted to a whole new plateau. There will be no keg. There will be no slip 'n' slide. But at Corkfest 2006, there will be tons of live music from morning ’til night, along with some of the best local art in the city. Best of all, everyone—and I do mean everyone—is invited.

National Hispanic Cultural Center

By Abi Blueher

In commemoration of National Coming Out Day, Sinatra-DeVine Productions will perform Paris is Burning … Life is a Masquerade at the National Hispanic Cultural Center (1701 Fourth Street SW) on Saturday, Oct. 7, at 7 p.m. With a cast of over 100, this wildly entertaining annual performance is brought to life by the finest female impersonators in the state. The show features such talents as Geneva Convention and Tequila Mockingbird from the Dolls, dance geniuses Raquel and Throb, and the legendary Angelica Del Rio. Tickets are $15, $20, $25 and are available by calling 724-4771. Proceeds benefit Albuquerque Pride, AIDS Emergency Fund and the BeautyMark Foundation. For more information, visit www.sinatradevine.com.

Gallery Openings

By Amanda Luketa-Hanlin

This Friday, Oct. 6, a host of new exhibits will be opening in Albuquerque and Santa Fe. Is it possible to make an appearance at every one of these receptions? Probably not. But it wouldn't hurt to try, would it? Come on. Challenge yourself.

The Greatest Story Ever Sold: The Decline and Fall of Truth From 9/11 to Katrina

OK, so they lied.

And if you don't want to call it lying, call it dissembling. Or fabricating. However you want to label it, even conventional wisdom now holds that the Bush administration led this country to war in Iraq on false pretenses, deliberately muddling the pursuit of Osama Bin Laden with a more ambitious war of choice.

As a result, high percentages of Americans believe that Saddam Hussein was involved in the 9/11 attacks and some of the 19 hijackers were Iraqi. As a political columnist for the New York Times, Frank Rich was camped on the frontlines as the Bush administration promoted these impressions. He watched as talking points—“the smoking gun which could be a mushroom cloud”—appeared in his own newspaper and bounced around the talk show circuit as evidence that Iraq was targeting America.

Blood Money: Wasted Billions, Lost Lives, and Corporate Greed in Iraq

In the last three years, Iraq became the largest recipient of American foreign aid in U.S. history. What do we have to show for it? Power outages and fuel shortages in every major Iraqi city, and even less oil production than under Saddam Hussein.